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This weekend was my last weekend of heavy duty marathon training for the B&A Trail Marathon. The Hal Higdon Advanced 2 marathon training plan that I am following called for 10 miles on Saturday and 20 miles on Sunday, but I also had plans to travel out of town for my friend Staci’s baby sprinkle and birthday, which happens to fall on St. Patrick’s Day. So I banged out my 20 miles Friday morning before heading out of town, took a rest day Saturday, and then ran my 10 miles when I got home this afternoon. One thing I’ve learned over my years of marathon training is that you have to be flexible. I have no problem flipping my workouts around if that’s what suits my schedule.

So now I am officially in taper mode! The B&A Trail Marathon is on April 8, three weeks from today.

I am excited to see how I do in this marathon. When I decided to sign up for it, I initially told myself that I would take it easy — I already had my BQ from the Rehoboth Marathon, with five minutes to spare. And the Hal Higdon plan I followed to get that time was certainly aggressive. I thought of going back to the plan I’d followed for my previous three marathons, which had me taking two rest days per week and running only one 20 miler, three weeks out from the race.

But at the same time, I really enjoyed pushing myself and seeing what I was capable of. So I decided to follow the same plan again, with some modifications. I followed the exact same long run schedule, which included three 20 milers, beginning seven weeks out from the race. On those weekends where a 20-mile long run was on the schedule, I also had 10 miles to run either the day before or the day after (the plan says to run the 10 miles Saturday and the 20 Sunday, but again, I modify depending on my schedule). I took one rest day, usually Friday, every week.

This time around, I omitted the hill training on the Naval Academy Bridge — the B&A Trail is super flat anyway — and I wasn’t as diligent about my speed work. I only did three rounds of Yasso 800s instead of six rounds, as I did last time. (This training cycle, I ran four 400s, then six 800s, then eight 800s this past week. In my opinion, this workout is the hardest of all. Give me the long run any day!)

I also run four days a week instead of the six days the plan calls for, because I do kickboxing on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I am reluctant to give that up! When I trained for Rehoboth, I sometimes squeezed in a run before kickboxing class — but only sometimes. Would I be faster if I focused exclusively on running? Probably. But I love kickboxing, and I think the cross-training keeps me strong and injury-free. It works for me!

I think I am capable of going sub-3:40 in the B&A Trail Marathon, which would be another BQ. Of course, unless I can beat my 3:35:00 time from Rehoboth, it’s not going to matter. Could it happen? Maybe, but if it doesn’t, I’m not going to beat myself up over it. Hell, if I don’t BQ again, I’m not going to beat myself up over it, because I already have a solid time. (Although the other night, I did have a dream that I ran a 3:43 marathon and was really upset about it! My God, get a grip, woman.)

It will be really interesting to see how backing off the speed training and omitting the hill training affects my race time. If I end up running 3:35ish again, I’ll know that the key to my success is likely running multiple 20-milers. And if I finish in the 3:40-something range, I’ll know that speed work and possibly hill training is what makes me a faster marathoner.

I’m going in with one big advantage — I have run just about all of my long runs on the B&A Trail! I’ve never been so familiar with a marathon course.

Questions for anyone reading this: Do you prefer speed training/sprint workouts or long runs (or do you think both suck, haha!) Do you think they are equally important in marathon training?

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Let me start off this post by saying that this discussion wouldn’t even be necessary if I got out of bed at a reasonable hour on the weekends.

I was doing so well when I was training for the Rehoboth Marathon. On the days that I was scheduled to run 20 miles, I set an alarm for 5:30 a.m. and named it, “You won’t BQ by lying in bed!!!” (Hey, it worked!) But this time around, I’ve been, shall we say, much less diligent.

I’ve been sticking to the same long run schedule, including the three 20-milers, but I haven’t been waking up at the butt crack of dawn to get it done. Last week, when it was time to run the first of those 20-milers, I didn’t get underway until after noon. (The night before was a girls’ night out in downtown Annapolis, so, well …. you know.) This week was a stepback week, so my long run was 12 miles — and I didn’t get out of the house until close to 11 a.m.

That would have been OK, except that I had planned to go to Cat Yoga with some work friends at 1 p.m. in Galesville, about 15 minutes south of where I live, so I knew I would be cutting it real close. In the end, I decided to run 10 miles, go to yoga (which was awesome — cats are awesome) and then run the last two miles after class.

I’ve never split up my long run before, and I don’t know how I feel about it. At least I did the majority of the run in one chunk, and it felt great — today’s weather was drizzly and overcast, but it was in the 50s. While I loved the random 80-degree day we had a few days ago, I do think I run better when the temperatures are in the 50s and 60s. I probably ran the 10-miler a hair faster than I should have for a long run, but it was hard to pace myself when I was feeling that good.

After class, I ran the last two miles at a 7:40ish pace, which I’m happy with because I’ve been working on finishing the long runs fast anyway. Plus, after a run and a yoga class, I was ready to take a shower and relax and just get it done for today.

Have you ever split up your run like that? Does it make a difference in the, well, long run?

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I was in the middle of running the seventh mile of Rip It Events‘ Little Patuxent River Run Half Marathon when I saw a runner just ahead of me lose his footing and slide down the hill.

“Are you OK?” I called out to him, just as I started to slip and fall, too.

That’s racing on a trail for you. Luckily, neither of us were hurt.

Rip It’s second annual Little Patuxent River Run Half Marathon and 10K was held on Super Bowl Sunday– and it was just as cold as it was last year, except this year, we had snow and sleet in the mix! It definitely made the race even more challenging — and trail running is already a challenge! Before last year’s race, I had never raced on a trail before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I learned then that when you run on a trail, you can expect the unexpected, as cliche as that sounds. You never know what roots or leaves or branches can trip you up — literally.

I went into this year’s race hoping I could break the 1:50:00 I got last year, which earned me second place in my age group. Instead, I ran it in 1:53:09, which might have still gotten me second place! To be honest, I’m not sure — I was SO cold during the awards ceremony that I sat in my friend and fellow Rip It ambassador Kree’s car, and she got my medal for me. The medal says third place in my age group, but she insists I got second. Either way, I was happy to place, considering I was a few minutes slower than last year!

The race was held on the Patuxent Branch Trail near Columbia, Maryland, and the first mile and a half or so are mostly on a flat, dirt path. Once you near mile two, the trail gets technical and you have to start watching where you are running a little more closely. It’s actually really beautiful and scenic with the Patuxent River running alongside the trail, and the woods all around you. There are two significant hills, one at around mile three and another around mile 4.5 or so. Most people speed walked up them, myself included– no shame in that game. Of course, as mentioned before, there were some significant downhills, too– which can be just as, if not more, treacherous!

Once I hit the second mile of the race, it started to snow. I am generally not a snow lover, but this was just light enough to be peaceful and pretty. Unfortunately, that didn’t last and it started to sleet, which was much less fun.

The race course is a loop, so everyone who ran the 10K did the loop once, and the half marathoners ran it twice. (Technically, those who ran the 10K actually ran 6.55 miles, not 6.2.) I have to admit, when I started on my second loop around the course, part of me wished I decided to run the 10K and call it a day. It was cold, I was getting wet and to be honest, I screwed up my pacing from the beginning, running my first mile in 7:40 something. That might have been OK in a road half, but not on a trail, with those big climbs ahead of me. My watch died in the middle of the race, but I know my splits were very positive. Oh well.

In addition to my Rip It team, I ran with a bunch of friends from 5 Peaks Martial Arts Academy, all of whom did the 10K. For some of them, it was their first 10K race ever — and it was on a trail! Pretty awesome!

Next up on the Rip It calendar is the Columbia 10-Miler on April 22. (This race used to be a half marathon.) Interested in running? Contact me for your 10 percent discount code!

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I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I’m not a goal-oriented person. But it always makes more sense to me to set personal goals on my birthday than on New Year’s. (This could be because I think New Year’s is the most overblown, overhyped holiday out there. But I digress.)

The rules are simple: You choose your goal (could be 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles) and commit to completing that mileage by Jan. 31. Every time you finish a run, you log your miles and report them to Matt, who keeps a daily leaderboard that he posts in a private Facebook event. Several dozen of his friends signed up for the challenge, and it’s so fun to see all the participants proudly reporting their miles each day — especially because not everyone is a hardcore runner. It’s inspiring to see people who insist they aren’t runners crush their goals!

Since I am training for yet another marathon, I knew reaching 100 miles would not be a problem for me, but I thought I’d get there sooner than I did. I hit 100 on Jan. 26, after being sick with a nasty cold/cough the week earlier that ruined my long run plans for last weekend. And as I said, having a friendly competition is a powerful motivator! I knew my friend Kree (Matt’s wife) would be at 100 miles on Jan. 26, so I made sure I met my goal that night — even though it was Friday night and I totally did not feel like getting on the treadmill. But I ran those last five miles anyway!

Then the next day, I ran 16 miles in keeping with my marathon training plan — so I am now at 116 miles for January. I should be able to finish out the month somewhere in the low 120s. I was hoping to be in the 130s, and I probably would have been had I not gotten sick. But what can you do? It is cold and flu season, after all.

January is my least favorite month by far — it’s cold (though we’ve had some mild days the past week), the holidays are over and spring and summer feel SO far away. Having a goal definitely makes the month go by faster — which is probably why I just can’t quit spring marathons!

As the title indicates, this book is largely a memoir of marathoner Sutcliffe’s attempts to qualify for the Boston Marathon. But it’s also a well-researched book that goes into a lot of detail about the history of the Boston Marathon. For example, probably all marathon runners (and lots of people who don’t run marathons) have heard of Heartbreak Hill. They may even know it’s at mile 20 of the Boston Marathon. But did you know why it’s called Heartbreak Hill? Back in 1936, defending champion Johnny Kelley passed another runner, Ellison Brown, patting him on the shoulder as he surged ahead of him. Brown then ended up winning the marathon in the end, leading to Kelley’s heartbreak.

I did not know this — I always thought Heartbreak Hill was so named because it’s at the point in the marathon where runners often begin to hit the wall and maybe miss their goal times, therefore breaking their hearts.

I also learned a lot about the history of the Boston Marathon qualifying standards and how much they have changed over the years. At one point in time, male runners had to post a 2:50 marathon to be allowed to run Boston, and female runners had to run a 3:20. Glad the Boston Athletic Association has relaxed the standards since those days!

In the author’s case, his qualifying standard was 3:25 when he started seriously trying to qualify after he’d already run many marathons. After missing his qualifying standard by a few minutes again and again, Sutcliffe qualified for and ran the 2014 Boston Marathon. The cutoff that year was 1:38, meaning runners had to run 1 minute, 38 seconds below their BQ time, and Sutcliffe made it by 22 seconds!

I felt pretty fortunate reading all about his journey to a BQ, because it didn’t take me nearly as long to qualify. I qualified in my fourth marathon, the first time I’d ever truly attempted to BQ. I say that not to brag, but to point out that I most definitely had an advantage being a woman in the 35-39 age group, where the standard is 3:40. The standards are much tougher for men, and there is some debate about whether that’s fair or not.

However, I definitely related to Sutcliffe’s comments that getting older is something a lot of runners look forward to, because it means they’ll be in a new age group with new qualifying standards. I’ll be 40 in two and a half years, and you can bet I’m excited for a 3:45 standard (assuming the BAA doesn’t change the standards, which they very well might in the next couple of years.)

What I loved the most about his book, though, was his vivid descriptions of the race. From the start of the race in Hopkinton to the famous Wellesley scream tunnel to the Newton Hills to the finish line on Boylston Street, reading the book has made me more excited than ever to run the 2019 Boston Marathon! (Assuming the BAA accepts my time with its 4:59 cushion — or five-minute cushion, depending on whether they count that extra 7/10 of a second! It”s still unclear to me.)

I’ve read several other memoirs written by runners trying to get to Boston, but this was my favorite because Sutcliffe also included so much historical information about the marathon itself. That made the book more than just a typical running memoir, and I know will make me appreciate my Boston experience all the more when I line up at the starting line in Hopkinton.

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Happy New Year! This year has gotten off to a bitterly cold start. This morning, it was 12 degrees when I woke up — and it’s been like that for days. And it will be like that for many more days to come, according to the forecast. I really fear for the upcoming winter months — and for my B&A Trail Marathon training. (Every year, I say I won’t run another spring marathon. Yet I can’t seem to help myself.)

That said, my goal for January is still to run at least 100 miles. My friend Matt, owner of 5 Peaks Martial Arts Academy, always does a running challenge to kick off the new year. Participants can choose to do 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles. As I typically hit 20-25 miles a week, even when I am not in marathon training mode, I always opt for the 100 mile challenge.

I’ve been running on the treadmill a lot lately after joining Edgewater Fitness, the gym in my new neighborhood. While I would rather be running outside in beautiful weather, I don’t hate the treadmill like a lot of runners do. When the days are so short, and I work until 5 p.m. during the week, I don’t have much of a choice. I just don’t feel safe running alone at night, or in the early morning hours. And as I mentioned before — it’s damn cold out there right now.

I’ve also been hitting the treadmill at the gym for the last four days for a reason unrelated to training goals. My husband is renovating our main bathroom (you know, that one with the shower!) and asked me last week if I would mind showering at the gym while he lays tiles. Um, can’t say I was thrilled about that idea, but at least the showers at Edgewater Fitness are nice — and I’ll have a beautiful bathroom when he’s (finally!) finished!

So yesterday I ran six miles on the treadmill to kick off the challenge. I have kickboxing class on Tuesdays, so I normally would not have run today. However, I needed to shower this morning, so I woke up at 5 a.m. to haul my butt to the gym before work. Because it is super weird to go to the gym just to take a shower, I obviously ran three miles, too.

Not a bad start to the month at all.

Tell me — do you see the treadmill as something to be avoided at all costs? Or do you embrace it?

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Although I think that is a bit of an exaggeration — let’s face it, an ice storm sucks no matter how many layers of fleece you’re wearing — he’s not completely wrong. Dressing properly is the key to getting through winter in the Northeast — especially if you have any kind of active lifestyle.

However, there is such a fine line between wearing just enough clothes, and wearing too many. Everyone warms up when they run, so you can easily find yourself overheating if you bundle up too much.

I’ve found this Runner’s World What to Wear tool to be really helpful. Personally, if it’s below 40 degrees, I probably wouldn’t go out for a run without grabbing a hat and gloves. If it’s below 30 degrees, I’ll grab a scarf or neck gaiter. But it’s different for everyone, as the guide will tell you.

This week, I’m in my hometown of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh. Winters are cold here, and the last few days have been no exception. Today, I ran four miles in 17-degree weather (it felt like 3 degrees outside.) I put on running tights, knee-high running socks, a long-sleeved technical T-shirt, my Rock ‘N Roll Marathon Finisher jacket, a hat, gloves and a scarf (I pulled the scarf over my face). Once I started running, I felt pretty toasty!

What do you wear to run in the cold? Or do you say the heck with running outside, and just run on the treadmill? (No shame in that game — I do plenty of that, too!)

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There’s nothing like running a marathon to make me want to sign up for another marathon!

I don’t have kids, but I’ve joked that running 26.2 miles is probably like birthing a child, in that your body totally forgets the pain and you decide you want to do it again someday. (Mother runners, can you relate to this?)

I have a few friends who have expressed interest in running a fall marathon. I’ve heard really good things about the Richmond Marathon in Richmond, Va., which happens every November. It’s just a few hours away from Annapolis, and it’s a marathon that a lot of runners use to BQ. Never too early to start thinking about 2020, right? 😉 I’d also be interested in the Philly Marathon, because I love Philadelphia and have several friends who live there, but I believe it conflicts with the Annapolis Running Classic.

Many people have also raved about the Marine Corps Marathon, which I would like to run some day. However, the fact that it’s in October puts me off a little bit. It would require me to spend the entire summer training, which means dealing with long runs in the swampy humidity of a central Maryland summer, plus trying to plan around vacations, day trips, etc. A November marathon buys me a little more time!

All that said, I’ve spent the last several winters training for marathons. And as much as I stress about forecasts of snow and ice, and complain about the cold, I can’t imagine not doing a spring marathon in 2018. Mainly because I hate winter THAT much and having a goal to work toward makes me hate it ever so slightly less.

I think I’m going to sign up for the B&A Trail Marathon, run by the Annapolis Striders (who organize my favorite race of all time, the Annapolis Ten Mile Run). As the name indicates, the race takes place primarily on the B&A Trail, where I do most of my long runs during marathon training. It’s a very small race, just a few hundred runners, and it’s practically in my backyard. So why not? The race, which is both a half and a full marathon, takes place on April 8.

Has anyone ever run a marathon that small? What did you like/dislike about it?

Other 2018 goals

My friend and kickboxing coach Matt always does a running challenge to kick off the new year, so in January, I am going to commit to running 100 miles during that month. Since I’ll be in marathon training mode once again, it should not be too hard to hit that mark.

I’m once again an ambassador for Rip It Events, so I plan to run and/or volunteer at as many of the 2018 events as I can. This year, I only missed one race, and it was because it was during my sister’s wedding weekend! Coming up first is the Little Patuxent River Half Marathon & 10K on Feb. 4. It’s the second year for this trail run, and it sold out in one day! I’ll be running the half, which will also fit in nicely with my marathon training.

Then in April, we have the Columbia 10 Miler and the St. Mary’s 10 Miler. Both of these races used to be half marathons, so if you weren’t quite ready for 13.1 miles, here’s your chance to try a shorter distance.

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No need to bury the lede — I qualified for the Boston Marathon in Rehoboth Beach on Saturday!

Three days later, and the excitement still hasn’t worn off. I really did it! All that hard work paid off! Next September, I will get to register for the 2019 Boston Marathon.

My BQ standard is 3:40, and I ran a 3:35:00:7 — that’s right, seven-tenths of a second over a perfect 3:35, which was my goal. If you run five minutes or more under your standard, the Boston Athletic Association lets you register during week one of registrations — not sure if this counts. Anyone know? The field for the Boston Marathon has gotten so competitive over the past few years that to gain entrance into the 2018 marathon, you had to run a whole three minutes, 23 seconds under your standard — which is why I was shooting for 3:35 instead of 3:40. I should have a pretty good cushion for 2019, barring any major jumps in the cutoff time.

The road to a BQ goes through Rehoboth

The Rehoboth Marathon was my fourth full marathon, and the first time I trained specifically for a BQ. I decided to go for it after I ran the Charlottesville Marathon last April in 3:42:15, surprising myself — it was a difficult course, and my last long run before my taper was a disaster of a 20-miler. I always train hard, but I knew if I pushed myself even harder, I could earn a Boston qualifier. Enter Hal Higdon’s Advanced 2 marathon training plan, which had me running Yasso 800s (I truly believe this is what got me the 3:35 … more on that in a bit), hill repeats and three 30-mile weekends comprised of 10 miles one day, 20 miles the next.

It was a damn tough plan, but it worked. I chose Rehoboth because I’ve been vacationing there most of my life, and it’s one of my favorite places in the world. The course is also super flat, unlike, well, every other marathon I’ve run. I think the fast course, coupled with that training plan and the amazing weather on race day, helped me meet my goal.

Speaking of the weather, I was REAL nervous about it. The race (which is both a full and a half marathon) has a really active Facebook group, and about 10 days out from the race, people started posting forecasts. One of the early forecasts called for 30 mph winds, and my heart sunk immediately when I saw that. I really feel the crazy winds hurt me in the Annapolis Running Classic and the Turkey Chase 10K two weekends ago, so I was not happy about possibly facing the same thing in the marathon. Fortunately, the forecast changed and there was almost no wind at all! With temperatures at the start of the race in the 40s, and the sun shining, it really was pretty ideal weather for a December race.

The race

My plan was to run with the 3:40 pace group for at least the first half of the marathon, then pass them by. I figured staying with the 3:40 group in the beginning would keep me from starting out too fast, then burning out late in the race. It ended up being the right strategy.

Both the half and full marathon started off at the Rehoboth Bandstand on Rehoboth Avenue, and right away, I noticed how crowded it was. I was pretty much running shoulder to shoulder with other runners until I broke off from the pace group at mile 14. That was the only thing I really didn’t like about the race — but when you’re running on narrow-ish streets, through a state park and down a rail trail, it’s kind of to be expected. I definitely had to apologize a few times to other runners I elbowed!

That aside, I thought the course was just beautiful. After starting in downtown Rehoboth, runners in both races ran through Cape Henlopen State Park, a favorite place of mine. The half marathoners turned around at a pavilion inside the park, while everyone running the marathon ran through the park and into Lewes Beach. We even got to run along the coast line for a hot second. At around mile 10, we ran past a Dairy Queen, where workers were handing out small servings of vanilla ice cream. While that was a nice idea, there was no way I was brave enough to try eating ice cream when I still had 16 miles left to run — I’ve had issues with dairy during training as it is. I stuck with my typical marathon fueling plan, which is taking Gu at miles five, 10, 15 and 20. It worked, though I felt my stomach start to grumble just before I hit mile 15 and got worried that a crash was imminent. Fortunately, the Gu (shout out to the lemon sublime and toasted marshmallow flavors!) did its job.

After turning around in Lewes Beach, the marathon runners went back through the park, and I decided it was time for me to go off on my own. At that point, I had been running a steady 8:20 pace, and it felt really comfortable. I started to speed up into the low 8s, while still making a point to appreciate the view around me (if you haven’t visited Cape Henlopen State Park, you totally should!) When I looked at my watch and saw I ran mile 15 in 7:58, I got a little nervous that I was going too fast, but I still felt great. I ran mile 16 in 8:07 and 17 in 8:16, and then came upon two runners who were chatting about running Boston.

I told them I was trying to qualify, and the one runner, James, asked me what time I was shooting for. I said I needed 3:40, but wanted a 3:35. He offered to pace me the rest of the marathon, which was so nice of him. He told me he was trying to take it easy with a 3:40 time, so he was quite obviously a much faster runner than I am! At this point, I was still feeling really strong and we hit miles 18 and 19 (which were back in the town of Rehoboth) at a sub-8 pace.

That pace continued as we ran miles 20 and 21 together, then we entered the Junction and Breakwater Trail, a rail trail that I didn’t even know existed until this race. (Now I have a new place to run when I come to the beach!) The trail was a little uneven, but not too bad, and I was able to hold a steady pace in the high 7s/low 8s. One big highlight was the dozens of flags hanging above the trail at mile 22, representing countries from all around the world. The volunteers at that stop were playing awesome music, too. At that point, I remember looking down at my watch and seeing I was at three hours, and knew that I could conceivably finish in the low 3:30s. After the turnaround point at the end of the trail, it was time to head back into Rehoboth, and I knew the finish line was near!

At mile 24, I started to hit “the wall,” and even began to feel a bit queasy. But my running partner cheered me on and I managed to power through. At mile 25, as we were running into Rehoboth, a spectator called out, “You look so athletic!” which made my day. At that point, I kept my eyes trained on the sidelines looking for my husband (who was in the bathroom when I crossed the finish line at the Charlottesville Marathon, haha.)

This time, he was right there at mile 26, and when he saw me, he yelled “EMPTY THE TANK! The finish line is right around the corner!” So I pretty much pushed as hard as I could mentally, ran that last 0.2 with everything left in me and crossed the finish line in a hair over 3:35. I hugged my new friend, who congratulated me on the BQ. Then I met up with my husband, who had brought a change of clean clothes for me, and it was time to hit the after party! I got three beer tickets, for three Dogfish Head Seaquench Ales (one of my favorite beers), and boy, did they taste good!

Why I qualified

Aside from the kindness of a fellow marathoner, there are a few reasons why I had such a successful race.

Yasso 800s. This speed workout is named after its creator, Runner’s World’s Bart Yasso, who realized he could predict his marathon time, more or less, by how fast he could run 800 meters. My training plan had me doing the 800s every three weeks, starting off with repeats of four, all the way up to repeats of eight. I ran my repeats in 3:35, and ….. voila, a 3:35 marathon! Of course there is probably more to it than that, but I was amazed at how accurate the 800s turned out to be. I tweeted Yasso after the race, and he said he was actually in Rehoboth cheering on the runners — so I ran past him and didn’t even realize!

I ran more than ever before. This is a no brainer, but the more miles you log, the faster you will get. In previous training cycles, I’d always run one 20-miler before tapering. This time, I ran three. Plus, the day before the long run always included a medium-long run– for example, eight miles Saturday then 16 on Sunday; nine miles, then 19 miles; and finally, three weekends of 10 miles, then 20 miles. Some weekends I felt like I did nothing but run!

The weather! Totally out of a runner’s control, but bad weather can make or break a race. I struggled with what to wear during this race, and settled on a long-sleeved technical top and running tights. I did not wear a running jacket, and I’m glad I didn’t, because even with temperatures in the 40s, it started to warm up pretty quickly. I never felt too hot or cold, and I feel like I really lucked out there.

I followed the long, slow distance rule during long runs, but also worked on finishing fast. You’re supposed to do your long runs during marathon training at a pace that’s easy and comfortable for you, which is probably not your race pace. I usually have a hard time doing that, but this time, I ran my long runs in the 9-minute range. But I also threw in a few marathon pace miles in there and worked on finishing fast (I ran the last two miles of my 20-milers at a sub-8 pace.) I feel that definitely helped me in the last few miles of the Rehoboth Marathon, when I was pushing hard physically and mentally.

I believed in myself. Simple, but true! I’ve spent the last few months thinking about my goal and dreaming of what it would feel like to run a BQ time. I knew I had the physical ability to do it, and I’d certainly put in the work. I truly saw this as my race. And it was.

Since I qualified for Boston 2019, that leaves me in search of a marathon in 2018! What should my next one be? I’m thinking of targeting a November marathon, but I’m so used to training for marathons over the winter that I kind of want to do a spring one, too. I welcome your suggestions!

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Life has been pretty busy lately. In the last week, I bought a house, traveled to Pennsylvania and Virginia to see family for Thanksgiving and … ran two Thanksgiving-themed races, Rip It Events’ Turkey Chase 10K and Relay in Columbia, Maryland, and the Greensburg Turkey Trot in my PA hometown on Thanksgiving Day. So please forgive the relative lateness of this post!

I’ll start with last weekend’s Turkey Chase — my final race of the year for Rip It Events!

Because I love a holiday-themed, well, anything, I decided it would be a fantastic idea to order a ridiculously huge pumpkin pie-shaped hat to wear in these races. (Thanks, Amazon Prime!) When it arrived in the mail, I realized it didn’t quite stay on my head, but I figured that pinning it to my hair with a half-dozen barrettes would do the trick. Except you know those winds I battled during the Annapolis Running Classic the day before? Yeah, those gusts stuck around for another day. So the hat flew off probably within 10 feet of the start line and I just carried it with me for 6.2 miles. Super cool.

My buddy Kree, a fellow Rip It ambassador, dressed as a turkey and had a very sweaty race as a result!

Although I had run a half the previous day, I wasn’t too worried about racing a 10K that morning — I’ve had higher mileage weekends recently as part of my marathon training. That said, my legs weren’t feeling particularly fresh, especially since the Annapolis Running Classic really kicked my butt this year. And Columbia, where most of the Rip It races are, is about as hilly as Annapolis.

The course is an out-and-back, and one of the nice things is that the first half of the race contains more uphill, so you get the hardest parts out of the way early on. I ran the first mile in 8:16, which felt more difficult than I expected it to (as a comparison, I ran the first mile of the Across the Bay 10K in 6:43!) Aside from the rolling hills, that first mile was really crowded, which always makes it harder to run your race pace. I tried to just focus on enjoying the scenery — aside from the wind and the brisk temperatures, it was a beautiful fall day. Most of the leaves were still on the trees, so running through the tree-lined streets of Columbia felt like running through a tunnel of reds, oranges and yellows.

I also wore my Annapolis Running Classic premium during the race, and one volunteer yelled out as I ran past, “Wow, you ran Annapolis yesterday? You’re a bad ass!” That felt pretty good. We had wonderful support from volunteers all along the race — I really appreciate everyone who gives up their Sunday morning to help us out! We couldn’t have these races without you.

I ran my second mile in 8:02, my third mile in 8:15, fourth in 7:48, fifth in 7:37, sixth in 7:52 and the final 0.2 in 1:44. I’m happy with those negative splits, although it was my second-worst 10K time ever: 49:28. I don’t mean to sound unhappy with that. Is that still a solid 10K time? Absolutely. But compared to my recent PR in the Bay Bridge run? Not so much. I’m trying to tell myself that my body just knew it was in taper mode for the Rehoboth Marathon and it was trying to conserve energy. And the wind, well, blew. No pun intended. It is what it is!

As a Rip It Events ambassador, I ran this race for free. Opinions are entirely my own!

Greensburg Turkey Trot

I run the Turkey Trot in my hometown of Greensburg, Pennsylvania every Thanksgiving, and it’s something I always look forward to. It’s a 5K run/walk through downtown Greensburg, the seat of Westmoreland County, nestled in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania. And those hills are no joke. The race organizers did change the course last year and removed one long, super steep hill, but they added in a bunch of smaller hills instead.

Last year, I came in second in my age group with a time of 22:59, and so I was hoping for first this year. I did beat my time from last year, but still came in second with a time of 22:37. I have no idea what my splits were, because my Garmin took its sweet time finding a signal in the few minutes before the gun went off, so I just used the timer function. I can’t complain about a sub-23 minute 5K or second place in my age group, especially over those hills. It was a darn cold morning, too — 27 degrees at the start. Yikes!

This was the 26th year for the Turkey Trot. The race has raised more than $500,000 for local nonprofits, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. Runners are also asked to bring a canned good or two to the race. It’s a well-run local event and something I’ve been able to introduce my husband to in our years together. My dad usually walks in the Trot, too!

Per Running USA stats, Thanksgiving is the most popular racing day of the year, second only to the Fourth of July. Is it because runners are looking for an excuse to chow down on that third helping of stuffing, or that second piece of pumpkin pie? Maybe. Is it a fun holiday tradition? Absolutely!